


Worth It

by Pyrobee



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: "Fake Date", Carnival, F/F, Fair, Fair Cliches, Femslash, First Date, Lesbian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 19:00:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10224950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pyrobee/pseuds/Pyrobee
Summary: When Veronica finds out that Jughead took Betty to the Chock'lit Shoppe on her first date ever, she's determined to show her best friend how a first date should really be done. Because Betty is worth it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you need some listening inspiration, I wrote this while playing the Life is Strange soundtrack on Spotify. It's great.

While Betty was usually amused by how intense Veronica sometimes got, it also could be a bit problematic. Practically the second she walked into the Lodge residence that Saturday morning, Veronica grabbed her hand and dragged her upstairs, leaving Betty to call a greeting out to an amused Hermione as she zipped by.

Veronica closed the door to her room and turned to the blonde, intent. “So? How was it?”

Betty looked away, sure she was blushing. “How was what?”

“What do you mean, what?” Veronica asked, exasperated. “Your date with Jughead last night, silly. Spill!”

Betty shifted. Veronica did her best to be supportive, maybe because of the whole kissing Archie thing, but talking about Jughead with her made Betty feel uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe it was because she could tell that it made Veronica uncomfortable too, though she had no idea why. 

“It was nice,” she said, and it had been. “We went to Pop’s, and—“

“Pop’s?” Veronica said, surprised. “He took you to Pop’s?”

Wondering at her friend’s almost angry tone, Betty replied, “Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of our place. Well, he said he would’ve taken me to the drive-in—“

“This boy has no clue,” Veronica muttered, going to sit on her bed with a sigh. 

Betty followed, saying defensively, “It was nice, V. Jughead can’t really afford anything extravagant right now, and the town doesn’t have much to offer.”

Veronica waved that away, imperiously. “You're worth way more than milkshakes and burgers. There are cheap ways to wow, Betty. Picnics, stargazing, hell, a walk in the park, even. You know that; I'm sure you've gone on much better dates before."

Her curious eyes lit on Betty’s face, which heated up with what she knew was an obvious blush. Veronica’s dark eyebrows rose. “Betty?”

“It was kind of, maybe…my first real date,” she admitted, looking away.

“Oh, honey,” said Veronica. When Betty glanced up, she looked like she wanted to say more, so Betty quickly went on.

“It’s not a big deal. I mean, I’ve been asked before, but Archie…”

“You really deserved a better first date,” Veronica said. “And if Jughead asks you to be his girlfriend...” She trailed off and stared into space for a second, and Betty touched her arm, confused.

“You okay?” she asked. 

Veronica snapped out of it with a smirk. “I have the best idea,” she said and then her look turned sly.

“Uh oh,” Betty replied, only sort of joking. She knew her friend well enough to know that Veronica with a “best idea” and a look like that could only mean trouble. 

“He hasn’t asked you to be his girlfriend yet, right?” Veronica asked. 

Betty shook her head. “I don’t think he really knows how this whole dating thing works either,” she said fondly.

“Then you can totally date someone else, right?”

“Well, I think going on a date with another guy would be a bad idea, V,” she said, not liking Veronica's mischievous look.

“Exactly,” said Veronica, nodding. “That’s why you’re going on a date with me.”

Betty could feel her jaw drop but couldn’t help it. Of all the things she expected to come out of Veronica’s mouth, this wasn’t even on the list. “What?” she finally breathed. 

“Go on a date with me,” said Veronica patiently. “I have the best idea for one, and this way you can see what you really deserve and won’t settle for less in the future."

She said it so confidently and simply that Betty scoffed at herself for being so nervous at the idea. Veronica wasn’t asking to date her; she was doing her a favor. A girl as beautiful and put-together as Veronica probably had a lot of dating experience, and she was just trying to impart some of her wisdom. Still, Betty laughed nervously and touched her neck, embarrassed. “I…sure, okay.” She smiled at Veronica. “Wow me.”

Veronica’s eyes took on a determined glint, and Betty groaned inwardly. This look always preceded craziness. What had she done? “You’ve got it, B. It’s going to be a night to remember.”

And that’s how Betty found herself on a short car ride with Veronica later that evening. Veronica had done up hers and Betty’s makeup, lent Betty one of her nice, lighter outfits to replace her casual sleepover clothes, and borrowed Hermione’s car—even though she was pretty horrible at driving, apparently—with some of the leftover guilt over from the Mr. Andrews situation. Despite her erratic driving, she kept Betty distracted and laughing with horrible jokes and ridiculous celebrity gossip the entire way. The trip breezed by, not feeling like thirty minutes at all, and Betty very suddenly realized where they were going when she saw the Ferris Wheel towering over the horizon.

“Oh my gosh, a fair?” she blurted, trying not to bounce with excitement, and Veronica smirked in satisfaction.

“It’s a classic for a reason, B,” she said casually. They paid for parking, and Veronica grabbed Betty’s hand and charged off to the ticket booth, making Betty laugh helplessly. Despite the blonde’s protest, Ronnie bought them both tickets for unlimited rides and led her in. 

“So what’s your favorite ride?” Veronica asked when they were inside. It was finally starting to get dark out, and Betty was enchanted by all the lights and bustle.

“Aren’t you supposed to work from the entrance and go from there?” Betty asked, trying not to pay too much attention to how Veronica still held her hand tightly. She was just showing her how things were supposed to be on a date, that's all.

“This night is about you, Betty Cooper,” Veronica reminded her. “So where do you want to start?”

Betty just knew she was blushing, so she looked away for a second, her cheeks already hurting from her constant smile. “Um. I really like the Gravitron,” she said.

“Gravitron it is,” Veronica said, leading her deeper into the fairgrounds. They found the Gravitron fairly easily and stood in line. Ronnie had to let go of Betty’s to show her band to the fair worker and didn’t take it back when they entered the dark inside of the ride. Betty tried not to sulk about it; it was all for fun anyway.

“I haven’t been to a fair in so long,” Veronica said as they took their spots. “I’m so excited!”

“Me too,” Betty said, regaining her smile. 

The ride was awesome as always, but Betty felt seriously motion sick afterwards and begged off going again. Veronica pouted and then grabbed Betty’s hand again, leading her to the roller coaster and missing how Betty looked at their hands together, looking pleased. 

“The line is long enough for us to recover,” Veronica said when they’d made it to the back of the line. Betty agreed, and they waited, people-watching as they inched forward.

“Wow, look at him go,” said Betty, pointing at a man on stilts. 

“Fairs really aren’t the same without a guy on stilts,” said Veronica wistfully.

“I’ve never actually seen one at a fair before,” Betty admitted, watching the guy’s artificially long legs cover an impressive amount of distance. 

“Really?” Veronica smiled at her, squeezing her hand. “At least I got to experience one of your firsts before Jughead.” She made a face. “Wait, that sounded a little wrong.”

They both laughed, embarrassed, and Betty’s chest felt inexplicably warm. 

After some more small talk, they made it to the front of the line and then onto the coaster. Veronica convinced Betty to take the very first cabin—“Come on, we’re the first ones on! It’s like a requirement!”—and they were off, zooming down the rails, up and down, and even upside down for a second that had Betty grabbing for Ronnie’s hand again. And then, all too soon, they were done and climbing out of the roller coaster, laughing breathlessly.

Veronica stopped short as they walked, staring up in wonder. Betty looked up too and saw the Freefall. She turned alarmed eyes on Veronica, who immediately pushed out her bottom lip.

“Please, Betty?” she asked, clasping her hands under her chin.

Betty tried to go for exasperated but landed on ridiculously charmed instead. “Oh my gosh, okay, but…I need a break really quick.”

“Funnel cakes? I’ll pay.” Veronica brightened, and Betty giggled.

“Okay.”

But on their way to a concession stand, Veronica got distracted and stopped yet again. Fondly exasperated, Betty asked, “What now?” and turned to look at the serious expression on Veronica’s face. The brunette marched right over to one of the throwing games, shoulders and jaw set in determination. Betty followed, confused. 

“Hit me,” said Veronica, slapping money on the counter. Just as grave, the man behind the counter gave her five balls. 

“Ronnie,” Betty whispered, leaning in. Veronica raised an eyebrow, leaning in as well to catch her secret. “They always cheat at these.”

Veronica jerked her chin at the gigantic teddy bear on the wall. “Do you see that, B? I have to win it! What kind of date would I be if I didn’t get you an inconveniently-sized stuffed animal?”

“Oh my gosh,” Betty said again, laughing. “You’re ridiculous.”

Veronica only smirked and then turned to the pins, eyes narrowed. 

While it took Veronica less time than Betty expected—she was a surprisingly good shot—she still spent way too much money just for the satisfaction of watching Betty with a giant bear in her arms. But she did look ridiculously satisfied about it. Betty thought about making a comment like, “What happened to showing me that a cheap date can be good?” but thought better of it.

“Can I put this in the car?” she asked, hugging the thing close to her chest. It almost dwarfed her.

“Come now, Betty, it’s a status thing. Giving you the biggest bear shows I’m the best provider,” said Veronica matter-of-factly, and Betty almost choked on air. She laughed at her expression but conceded. “Sure, let’s put it back. I’ll carry it for you.”

“No way,” Betty said, twisting her body away from Veronica’s outstretched arms. “You gave it to me.” She hesitated, then added, cheeks heating up, “Besides, I want everyone to know I have the best date here.”

And now Veronica was blushing, which never happened, and they walked back to the car, avoiding each others’ eyes and smiling so hard it hurt. 

When they got back, it was already completely dark out. Veronica said they didn’t have to go on the Freefall ride, but she looked so bummed about it that Betty dragged her into line. So Veronica was going to see her screaming like a 90’s horror movie reject, it was no big deal. She wiped her sweating palms on her skirt and focused on Veronica’s excited voice instead. 

But Betty got so pale and shaky at the front of the line that Veronica nixed the idea immediately and lead her out of line and to a nearby bench instead. They both sat, and Betty leaned forward on her elbows.

“I’m sorry,” said Betty, eyes closed. “I’ve gotten stuck on the Freefall before. It turned out okay, but I’ve been scared since.”

“Oh no, Betty, why didn’t you tell me?” Veronica asked, grabbing Betty’s hands. “I’m the worst date!” 

Betty’s eyes opened, and she grimace-smiled at Ronnie’s earnest expression. “No way, you’re an awesome date. I just didn’t want to…ruin things. I’m having such a great time, V.”

Veronica’s eyes softened, and she smoothed a hand over Betty’s back. The blonde couldn’t help but lean into her. After a moment, Ronnie said, voice a little tight, “Let’s get that funnel cake I promised you,” and they both got up, hand in hand. 

The funnel cakes were delicious and greasy, which was perfect, and they also shared a pile of fries as they sat together. Veronica was saying something ridiculous, as usual, when it suddenly hit Betty that this was only temporary: a fake date. Veronica would go back to flirting with Reggie or whoever, and she wouldn't go out with Betty and be all territorial and sweet ever again. Her smile slipped, and Ronnie’s eyebrows drew together in concern.

“What’s wrong, B?” 

“Betty? Veronica? What are you doing here?”

They looked up and saw Archie and Val, holding hands and looking happy to see them. Betty and Veronica quickly made room for them, and Betty pressed her cool hands to her suddenly hot cheeks. If she kept blushing this hard, she was going to need to get checked out or something. 

“We’re having a girls’ night, Archie,” said Veronica, smirking at Betty. “It’s not all about you boys.”

“Oh, is that why you’re not here with Juggie?” Archie asked, looking at the blonde. 

When she saw the annoyed look on Veronica’s face, she grabbed the girl's forearm under the table and rubbed it soothingly with her thumb. 

“Veronica invited me, and Jughead didn’t,” Betty said, simply. Ronnie’s irritation was replaced with a smile, and Val suddenly looked intrigued. Archie, luckily, just took her comment as a matter of course.

“Well, we were about to leave,” said Val suddenly after a little chit chat. Archie looked surprised, but she raised her eyebrows at him meaningfully. 

“Uh, yeah,” said Archie after a second, still puzzled. “We got here early. Um, I guess we’ll see you around.”

They left—Val with a not-so-subtle wink—and Veronica tugged Betty to her feet.

“Come on, we should hit the Ferris Wheel. A romantic date at the fair wouldn’t be complete without it.” Betty ducked her head but allowed herself to be led. Ronnie made sure the height of the ride was okay for Betty and was just generally the perfect gentlewoman, and Betty was starting to get a little depressed about it. But that only made Ronnie more attentive, and it was ridiculously attractive on her. 

Betty was relieved when they finally got on and started slowly lifting into the air, but then she realized that she and Ronnie were very much alone together on a historically romantic, couple-y ride. She started to chatter nervously about, of all things, _The Devil in the White City_ and the history of the Ferris Wheel.

“—so it actually was the American response to the Eiffel Tower,” she finished, fidgeting with her hands under Veronica’s amused stare.

“You’re so cute when you talk about nerdy book stuff,” Veronica sighed, grinning. Betty rolled her eyes but grinned back, her shoulders relaxing.

“Shut up, Ronnie,” she said, and Veronica leaned her head on the blonde’s shoulder, making her heart pound. 

“Look where we are,” said Ronnie, and Betty saw that they were at the top of the wheel. She stared at the expanse of land and at the city lights in the distance.

“Wow,” she gasped, and Veronica laughed quietly. She glanced down at the top of the brunette’s head and, after a second of hesitation, wrapped her arm around the other girls’ shoulders. Ronnie settled in immediately, and they both looked out into the darkness with secret smiles.

As all rides do, it eventually ended, and the two walked through the fair, still quiet and contemplative. An air of melancholy had settled in out of nowhere.

“I believe we’ve hit all of the required rides,” Veronica said, sounding tired. “Do you want to head out?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. My mom will freak out as is.” She probably should have checked her phone, but she didn’t think she had the energy for her mom’s mania. Instead, they drove back to Riverdale in relative silence, listening to one of Veronica’s CDs. It was calm and subdued and perfect for whatever this was. Betty looked over at Ronnie and studied her profile in the occasional light that passed over it. There was something sad in her eyes, Betty thought, but she felt helpless to fix it. So she picked at the paint on her nails instead and said nothing.

When they finally got to Betty’s house, neither of them moved for several beats after Veronica parked and shut off the car. Finally, Veronica said, hesitantly, “Let me walk you to the door.”

“Okay,” said Betty, reaching for the handle. Veronica stopped her with a hand on her arm and a smile, and Betty watched her curiously as she hopped out and walked around the front of the car to open Betty's door for her. Betty had to laugh and take the hand Veronica offered her as she stood and closed it behind her. The other girl didn’t let go, and they held hands as they walked up to the porch, stopping at the foot of the stairs.

“Well, this is it,” said Veronica, facing Betty. She spoke in a whisper, wisely trying not to alert Betty’s mother. The noises of the summer night settled in the silence between them as Betty tried to think of what to say to lengthen their date just a little longer.

“Yeah,” she finally breathed. She realized she left her bear in the car but didn't want to break the sudden electricity between them. Could Veronica feel it too? “It’ll be hard to go back to Jughead and…Reggie after this, huh?” 

They both grimaced, looking away. “You heard about that, huh?” Veronica asked. “It’s not serious or anything. Not like Jughead, anyway.”

Betty opened her mouth but couldn’t say anything. She just looked into Veronica’s eyes, helpless, and Veronica looked back, as inscrutable as ever. Then those dark eyes squeezed closed for a second, and the hand in hers tightened. “Fuck it.” Betty was pulled forward into her arms, and their lips met in a kiss that took her breath away. She let Veronica lead, still unsure, but the kiss was bruising and not at all like a kiss between friends. Veronica kissed her like she wanted to do it again and again, and Betty melted.

When Veronica pulled back, they were both breathing a little hard, and she smiled. 

“Every good date ends with a great kiss,” she said quietly, not meeting Betty's eyes.

“No,” said Betty, suddenly angry. She worked to keep her voice down. “That was not a fake date kiss, Veronica. You can’t pretend like this is just a game anymore.”

Veronica’s smile disappeared, and she looked so uncertain. “Betty Cooper,” she whispered, brow furrowing. “Do you…” She looked down, took a deep breath, and then met Betty’s eyes with a look that made her burn. “Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Tears sprang to Betty’s eyes, and Veronica looked alarmed. “Yes! I’m sorry.” She smoothed Ronnie’s shoulders, soothing. “I’m sorry, I’m just...really happy.” She rolled her eyes at herself and at Ronnie, a tear slipping down her cheek. “Of course I want to be your girlfriend.”

Veronica hugged her tightly again, probably so she wouldn’t shout or something, and kisses were pressed all over Betty’s face as the blonde grinned and held onto her new girlfriend like a life raft. 

“This really is the perfect date,” Veronica said, pulling back with a smug smile. “I am so good.”

Betty slapped her arm, and they laughed. Then a light switched on inside. 

“Oh crap, get out of here,” said Betty. Veronica sneaked in another quick kiss and hurried off, grinning like an idiot. Betty watched her, exasperated and grinning just as widely, and then she quickly slipped inside to head off her mom. 

It was so worth the lecture.

**Author's Note:**

> I absolutely loved writing this. I feel like I really missed out by not letting Veronica fight for Betty in Throwing Down, so I wrote this instead of a whole new version. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.


End file.
